• Soak the beans overnight in cold water. Drain them and put them into a large, heavy pot. Add 1⁄2 cup olive oil, the peeled intact onion half, the celery stalk, bay leaf, and 10 cups cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beans are very tender, about 2 1⁄2 hours. Season with salt to taste. Remove and discard the onion, bay leaf, and celery.
• In a heavy, 5-quart saucepan, heat the remaining 1⁄2 cup olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the minced onion, minced celery, and carrot, stirring briefly. Let the vegetables sizzle for a moment in the oil, then lower the heat to medium-low or low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened and are slightly translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary, and red pepper flakes to the pot, stir well, and let cook for a minute or so. Stir in the tomato paste, then add the beans and the bean cooking liquid to the pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, and then lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Remove 2 cups of beans from the pot and puree them with 1 1⁄2 cups water in a blender until smooth. Stir the pureed beans back into the pot and return to a boil. Stir the pasta into the pot and lower the heat to simmer, stirring often. Cook until the pasta is tender yet still retains a slight firmness in the center, about 20 minutes. Stir in the fennel and 1⁄2 cup cold water. Season generously, to taste, with salt and let rest 5 minutes before serving.
• Drizzle with Pequin Chile Oil or an extremely good, grassy extra-virgin olive oil, and serve.

PEQUIN CHILE OIL

• In a small saucepan, heat 1⁄2 cup of olive oil over medium-low heat until hot to the touch, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove pot from the heat. Stir in 2 tablespoons of pequin chile flakes or other hot red pepper flakes and let them steep for at least 30 minutes. Cool the chile oil, and then transfer it to a covered container. Stir well before using to ensure chile flakes are suspended in each spoonful of oil. You can store the oil, refrigerated, for up to 1 month.

• Place the frozen açai puree, banana, and berries in a high-speed blender and puree until smooth like sorbet, adding almond milk slowly and sparingly to avoid a runny consistency. Use the plunger tool if the mixture gets stuck.
• Pour into a bowl, top with your favorite toppings (below), and serve, or transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.

Original Gangster

• Top an Açai Bowl recipe with sliced banana, sliced strawberries, fresh blueberries, coconut shavings, and a drizzle of honey.

Go Nuts

• Top the Açai Bowl recipe with granola, sliced banana, hemp seeds, bee pollen, nuts of choice, and drizzles of peanut butter and honey. 

Green Goliath

• Add a handful of fresh spinach or kale and organic plant-based protein powder to the Açai Bowl recipe and blend to combine. Top with to fresh fruit, coconut shavings, and dried goji berries.

• Soak the garbanzo beans in water at room temperature for two days, drain, and reserve in the fridge.
• Make the Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette: Combine the vinaigrette ingredients in a blender, blend until smooth, and reserve.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large cast-iron pan over high heat. Carefully add the peppers and blister, flipping as the skin chars, until slightly blackened and wilting, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, season with salt, and cover with plastic wrap. Let cool, trim and discard the stems and seeds, and cut into 2-inch pieces. Using the same pan over high heat, add the radishes, cut sides down, and char for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden. Flip and char the other sides for 1 minute. Transfer to the bowl with a slotted spoon. With the heat still on high, add and char the garbanzos, stirring as they blacken, about 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer to the bowl and reserve.
• Place the mixed greens, parsley, mint, and cilantro in a large serving bowl. Stir the vinaigrette, add to taste, toss the salad to coat, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the peppers, cucumbers, radishes, and garbanzos, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and serve.

• Preheat a gas or charcoal grill for medium-high heat, about 450ºF.
• Whisk together oil, cumin, chili powder, lime zest and juice, garlic, salt, and a pinch of pepper. Mix until well combined.
• Cut 2 squares of aluminum foil large enough to fully wrap an ear of corn. Place 1 ear of corn on each square. Drizzle a small amount of the marinade over each ear, rub to evenly coat, and wrap tightly in the foil. Coat the mushrooms with the remaining marinade.
• Grill the foil-wrapped corn for 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes. While the corn is cooking, grill the mushrooms for 5 minutes on each side. Transfer the corn and the mushrooms to a cutting board to cool. When cool enough to handle, cut the kernels from the cobs and slice the mushrooms into 1⁄4-inch-thick strips.
• Top the warm corn tortillas with the mushroom strips, corn kernels, cabbage, cilantro, green onions, and avocado cream and serve.

• Combine all of the ingredients in a blender. Add 2 tablespoons of water and blend until smooth, adding more water if the cream needs thinning.

• In a medium saucepan over medium- high heat, warm the 2 tablespoons
oil. When shimmering, add the onion, garlic, jalapeño, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the cumin, coriander, and chili powder and stir for 1 minute. 
• Add the black beans with the can's juices. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are thick, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and immediately mash the beans with a potato masher until most are mashed and the mixture is thick. Season to taste with salt. Let cool slightly.
• Heat a cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Warm the tortillas one at a time until they are very flexible, about 1 minute per side, then immediately wrap them tightly in a clean kitchen towel to keep warm so they don’t cool and break when you try to roll them.
• In a large, deep frying pan over medium heat, pour enough oil to reach 1 inch up the side of the pan. Heat the oil until a deep-frying thermometer reads 350°F, about 10 minutes. If you don’t have a thermometer, the oil is ready when a small cube of GF bread browns in the oil in 30 seconds.
• Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with paper towels and set near the stove. Arrange 4 of the warm tortillas on a clean work surface. Add 1 heaping tablespoon of the bean mixture to the bottom third of each tortilla. Gently
roll the tortilla up over the filling into
a tight cylinder. Using a toothpick, gently fasten the flap of the overlapped tortilla to the rest of the tortilla like a sewing stitch.
• Working in batches of 4 to avoid crowding, carefully place the taquitos
in the hot oil, toothpick side down,
and fry until brown and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and brown on the other side, about 1 minute longer. Remove with tongs to the prepared baking sheet and repeat. Remove the toothpicks and serve immediately.